Fallen Into Shadow
by Mistocat21
Summary: A young Jedi apprentice searches for the reason behind the death of her master, and meets a variety of characters along the way.


Disclaimer: All of the Star Wars characters and references (i.e. Obi-Wan, Anakin, Coruscant, the Jedi Council) belong to George Lucas. I do, however, own Elena Malvarynn and Liana Kelendo.  
  
Obi-Wan stared thoughtfully out the window, into the myriad of ships and speeders racing by. His personal quarters on Coruscant gave him an excellent view, but that didn't seem to matter much at the moment. Obi-Wan was lost in thoughts of the past, and how they suddenly seemed to be catching up with the present. Earlier that day, he had been called to the Jedi Council. That wasn't unusual, particularly as he was currently training a Padawan, but what they had to say was not at all what he expected. He definitely had not been prepared to hear that a fellow Jedi Master had been killed, leaving behind a young apprentice. He had been even less prepared to hear that master and apprentice were none other than Elena Malvarynn and Liana Kelendo. The Council was certain that the attack had been made on both Jedi, and that someone was still after the surviving apprentice. They were bringing Liana to Coruscant for protection, and planned to place her under Obi-Wan's watch. It wasn't that Obi-Wan minded, not in the least. He liked Liana very much and knew exactly why the Council had asked him to help her out. He had gotten to know her quite well several years ago, when Elena had joined Qui-Gon on a mission. Obi-Wan had only been a Padawan then, but in his late teens he still had quite a few years on the then ten year old female apprentice. He remembered his frustration at finding himself in the company of such a child, but had quickly learned that Liana was far more intelligent than her age predicted. Eight years, he thought, staring out into the afternoon light. Had it really been that long since he'd seen her? Obi-Wan shook his head in disbelief. So much had happened since then. Only a year later, he'd met Anakin... The thought of his apprentice convinced Obi-Wan to get up and go check on the boy. There was no telling what the sixteen year old would get himself into if Obi-Wan didn't make an effort to keep him from it. In truth, the Jedi Master loved his apprentice like a son and knew he could become a great Jedi. He was only a teenage boy, therefore causing trouble whenever possible. Stepping out the door, Obi-Wan hurried down the hall to find Anakin.  
  
Liana sat in the central room of the transport. The transport that was taking her away from Alderaan, her haven, to Coruscant, which had never felt like home. The transport that was taking her away from Elena...no. The ship wasn't taking her away from Elena. Elena was gone long before this ship ever left its docking bay. But now this transport was taking her away from her chance of finding out what had happened: why her Master was dead, why she had spent two weeks recuperating in a hospital on Alderaan, why she suddenly needed the protection of the most powerful Jedi in the Order? There was no hope of learning the truth while on Coruscant, at least without the help of the Jedi Council. The Council would want to find out who was behind this, of course, but would they ever allow Liana to be involved? That was more unlikely than Bail Organa deciding to turn this ship around and not attend the Senate meeting or deliver Liana to the Jedi as he had promised. It wasn't that Liana was dreading her arrival on Coruscant. In fact, she was looking forward to seeing Master Yoda and Master Windu again, and feeling the security of the Jedi Council's presence. And she was eager to see Obi-Wan, whom she only remembered as a Padawan learner frustrated with his Master's ways. She felt more comfortable knowing that he had agreed to look out for her, and she was dying with curiosity about this new apprentice she had heard about. So, she insisted to herself, she had a million reasons to be thrilled about going to the capitol, but more than anything, she missed Elena, her own master, and wished this awful nightmare would end before it caused any more pain. Liana stared out the window and watched the lights of Coruscant draw nearer. At that moment, Bail Organa leaned into the room to announce their proximity to the landing pad. Liana climbed to her feet, and glancing once more around her last link to Alderaan, picked up her bag and followed him towards the hatch.  
  
The first thing that came to mind when Liana stepped out of the ship was how big everything was. She had a few vague memories of Coruscant, but the size of the city had completely eluded her long term memory. She could have stood still and stared, but quickly remembered that there were people to greet and hurried forward down the ramp. Master Yoda and Master Windu were coming towards the arriving party, looking much as Liana remembered them. They stopped briefly to exchange a few words with Bail Organa, and then Master Yoda floated his hoverchair over to Liana, and bowed as best he could while sitting down.  
  
"Liana Kelendo," he said, smiling at her. "A pleasure it is to see you again, after all these years."  
  
"The pleasure is all mine, Master Yoda." She returned the bow and the smile as Mace Windu approached.  
  
"Liana," he exclaimed, bowing. "We see you at last. We meet under unfortunate circumstances, but it is wonderful to have you here all the same."  
  
Yoda leaned forward. "Sorry we are, to hear of Master Elena's fate. Help you we will, in this difficult time."  
  
Liana was overcome by the kindness of the two Jedi Masters. She should not have expected less from those of her own order, but all the same, their understanding was touching.  
  
"Thank you," she whispered, trying to subdue the pain that so easily rose up. Master Windu was watching intently and, seeing her emotion, said: "I know of an old friend who is eager to see you. He's right over there, if you'd like to go and get reacquainted."  
  
Liana's eyes followed Mace's finger and saw Obi-Wan standing part way down the landing pad, a smaller figure next to him. After excusing herself from the presence of the two Masters, she walked towards her old friend, wondering at what she might say after all these years. He smiled down at her as she reached him, and gave a friendly hello.  
  
"Master Kenobi," she replied. "It's been a long time."  
  
"It has," he replied, smile breaking into a grin. "But not so long that friends need to have such formality, Liana. I'm still Obi-Wan, Master or not."  
  
His friendliness and informal attitude displayed the young Obi-Wan she had known, hidden from first impression by the Master haircut and beard which gave him the look of wisdom and seriousness.  
  
"Well, you've come a long way from the Padawan I knew," she told him, smiling back.  
  
"And you've come a long way from the young girl I knew," he replied, raising his eyebrows. "You're catching up to me in height, to say the least."  
  
"I'm not ten anymore, Obi." Liana felt some weight lifting off her chest as the conversation became more relaxed, more playful, more like she remembered. It was nice to have a friend, particularly when times were so hard. Feeling much more at ease, she turned to the boy next to Obi-Wan and greeted him warmly. He smiled back and introduced himself as Anakin Skywalker. So this was the apprentice she had heard about from Master Elena. Liana guessed he was nearly as old as she, and if first impressions were anything to go on, he seemed like a nice sort. She hoped that she might have the chance to get to know both him and Obi-Wan better, as it had been a long time since she'd seen the latter. The fact that Obi-Wan would be looking out for her gave her hope in thinking she might do so.  
  
Liana closed the drawer with a snap and looked around the little room that was to be home for who-knew-how-long. With all of her possessions safely stored, the room took on a more friendly, familiar feel. It was so kind of Obi-Wan and Anakin to give her a room in their apartment, particularly when there wasn't all that much space to begin with. Liana suspected that this was part of a plan designed to look out for her, but she didn't mind. She'd just as soon not be alone all the time. Maybe company would give her a reason to stop thinking about... Liana cut off that thought abruptly and went to look out the window. Staring into the myriad of buildings and the ships darting around them, she made a mental list of all the advantages of being on Coruscant, all the new experiences she could have here. First of all, she had to explore. She'd never lived in a city like this before and she wasn't about to let herself miss out on this opportunity. She had to live her life, didn't she? That's what Elena would say, what Elena would want her to do. Get up and move on. Don't dwell in sadness, but make something of what you have. The flood of emotion threatened to rise up once again, and Liana pressed her fist against the Plexiglas window in frustration. Why couldn't moving on be as simple as it sounded? She sighed and swallowed hard. It was no use. She couldn't pretend it didn't matter. She was still hurt, still angry. She had to find out what happened, because that was the only way to stop her imagination. The truth, whatever it was, would be better than not knowing. Staring out into the swirling activity of Coruscant, Liana made a silent vow. I will find out what happened to you, Elena. I promise. 


End file.
